Ington



(No M 'd 1.) I e W. F. WAMSLBY an T. MGINTOSH.

.ELECTRIC CONNECTOR FOR BRAKE HOSE.

No. 427,138. Patented May 6, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT @Enrono VILLIAM F. VAMSLEY AND THOMAS MCINTOSH, OF VALLA WALLA, WASH- INGTON. l

ELECTRIC CONNECTOR FOR BRAKE-HOSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,138, dated May 6,1890.

' Application filed July l2, 188i). Serial No. 317,298. (No model.)

To all whom iv' may concern:

. United States, residing at Walla Valla, in

the county of Talla lValla and Territorry of Vashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Signal Devices for Air-Brake Hose-Couplers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the construction and application of electrical conductors used for lighting and signaling, which are applied to the air-brake pipes used on railway-cars, said conductors being so constructed and arranged that electrical connections will be established or broken by the coupling or uncoupling of the pipe-connections, subst-antially as will hereinafter be more particularly described or pointed out.

The present invention is designed as an improvement upon the invention for which Letters Patent No. 364,558 were granted to us on the 7th day of June, 1887, and in addition to the general objects of said former invention the present invention was devised for the purpose of rendering the contact-points (hereinafter referred to as con'tact-loops) of such construction and arrangement as to obviate the wear thereof in coupling and uncoupling the pipe-connections, aswell as to permit of a yielding action when such connections are being established or made.

Further, the invention has for its object to simplify and to render more effective both the passage of the electric conductors through the insulating-ring to the contact-loops and the attachment of said conductors to said loops, all as will more fully hereinafter appear when taken in connection with the accompanyin g drawings, wherein-h Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section through two air-brake pi pe-cou plers, showing our improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the contact-loops, the same showing their arrangement within the insulating-ring. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the loops and its segment, to more clearly indicate the attachment of the one to the other, as well as the connection therewith of the electric conductor. Fig. 4 is a view in detail representing the construction of cer- 5 5 tain parts.

In our former Letters Patent referred to we resort to the use of contact-points,whch are seated within or upon an insulating-ring formed with teats, which lie between the sepa- 6o rated ends of said contact-points and insulate them from each other, and in combination with said contact-points we employ certain non-conducting buttons and spring-needles, so constructed and arranged that when the couplings are detached or disconnected from each other and pressure on the buttons is removed the said spring-needles automatically come into contact with offsets of the points, and thus close or complete the electric cir- 7o cuit.

In carrying our present invention into effect we employ two metallic segments for each coupler-head, to the ends of which are attached or connected the lat-eral branches of 7 55A two contact-loops, so formed that when two coupling-heads are brought together and connected the said loops will yield to the pressure exerted, and thus obviate any wear thereof. These segments are seated within an in- 8o sulating-ring of substantially the same form as the one used in the practice of our other invention referred to, so as to be insulated from each other aswell as from the couplinghead in which the several parts are located. Between the metallic segments and the insulating-ring for holding them we also preferably employ flexible non-conductin g segments of leather, soft rubber, or the like to assist both in the yielding action desirable between 9o the loops in practice and the hermetic sealing of the connection between the couplingheads.

Reference being had to the several parts of the drawings by the letters marked thereon, 9 5 A A designate couplings for iieXible pipe or hose B B--such as the ordinary Westinghouse air-brake hose-coupling--adapted for conducting compressed air by which railway-car brakes are operated. The nature and conroo struction of these couplings will be fully understood on reference to the Patent No.

364,558, hereinbefore referred to; but for the purpose of clearness it may be stated that they consist of hollow shells adapted to interlock with each other and form an air-tight coupling and terminate in tubular shanks adapted to receive and have secured to them the flexible pipes or hose B, referred to, as shown, the said heads being provided with Vcaps Z l, which screw into circular openings therein, also as shown.

C represents a circular gasket, of rubber or other suitable material, the same bein g lian ged and seated upon an inner projecting rim surrounding the opening in the shell, and which gasket projects slightly above the surface of the coupling-head, so that when the two shells or heads are coupled together a perfect airtight joint is had between them. Fitting beneath the inner flange of said gasket C is an insulating-ring of non-conducting material7 the same being designated by the letter D, and this ring is grooved out, as shown at a, leaving at diametrically-opposite points the teats Z1 l). Vithin the grooves of the ring are seated the metallic segments 'E E, to the ends of which are secured by rivets the lateral branches c c of the electric contact-loops F F, the term contact-loops being adopted by reason of the shape of the central portions thereof, which are the portions which come into contact when the two heads of the couplers are connected.

. The several parts of our electric devices are maintained within the coupler-head against lateral displacement by means of an inner iiange of saidhead. (Designated by the letter e.)

It will be understood that the teats of the ring maintain the said sections out of contact electrically. The ends of the conducting-wires G G are preferably inserted. between the ends of the segments and the lateral branches of the loops, and in order to insure proper action a suitable solder of conducting material is applied at such points. Beneath the metallic segments and within the grooves of the insulating-ring we also preferably employ iiexible non conducting segments of leather, soft rubber, or the like, by which great assistance is derived to impart the desired play and yielding action between the contact-loops.

The.electrical conductors G G represent the negative and positive poles of an electrical battery, and, as described, areelectrically connected with the metallic segments E E and loops F F.

'lhe electric circuit is maintained normally open, and as soon as the loops are made to cross each other in contact the circuit becomes closed, and the signal is thus started.

From the foregoing description it'will be seen that when the several sections of airbrake tubes are connected or coupled together in the usual manner the loops arranged in t-he connecting or adjacent coupling-heads will be in contact longitudinally, and thus will the electric circuit be maintained normally open throughout the entire length of the railway-train; but in the act of coupling or uncoupling such heads the pairs of loops are necessarily made to cross each other, thus closing the electric circuit and giving to the engineer a signal which will be understood by him, and it will be obvious that in any accidental displacement or separation of the coupling-head the signal will instantly apprise the operatives in charge of the train of such fact.

Vhile we have herein described and shown certain features of construction of the spring contact-loops, we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves thereto in precise detail, since various other forms could be adopted and still come within the scope of our invention, which is intended to comprehend the'employment of electric contactv points or loops for maintaining a normallyopen electric circuit, which possesses the characteristic of spring or elasticity between them. Immaterial changes could also be resorted to in regard to the other features of our invention without departing from the general spirit thereof.

Having thus described Iour invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In air-brake hose-couplers, the combination, with the conducting-wires, of pairs of elastic or spring contact-loops for maintaining a normally-open electric circuit between sections of brake-tubes, substantially as described.

2. In air-brake hose-couplers, the combination, with the conducting-wires, of pairs of elastic or spring contact-loops, maintaining a normal open circuit and located within the coupling-heads parallel to eac'h other, whereby when the heads are coupled or uncoupled the said loops will cross each other, and thereby close the circuit, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In air-brake hose-couplers, the combination, with the metallic segments insulated from each other, of the elastic contact-loops, formed with lateral branches and secured to the ends of said segments electrically, said loops being brought together longitudinally in pairs to maintain a normally-open circuit, substantially as described.

4. In air-brake hose-couplers, the combination, with the metallic segments insulated from each other, of the contact-loops formed with lateral branches and secured to the ends of said segments by means of rivets, and the electrical conductors having their ends secured between the ends of the segments and loops, said loops being brought together longitudinally in pairs to maintain a normallyopen circuit, substantially as described.

5. In air-brake hose-couplers, the combination, with the coupling-heads, having inter- IIO nal ange, of the anged gasket, the grooved In testimony whereof We affix oursignatures insulating-ring having the teats, the metallic in presence of tWo Witnesses. segments seated Within the ring, JL he oontaot- VILLIAM F. WAMSLEY. loops having lateral branches connecting the l THOMAS MCINTOSI-I.

Witnesses:

EDWARD LYoNs,

M. S. HULETT.

ends of Jhe segments, the flexible segments, and the conducting-Wires, substantially as shown and described. 

